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Rhapsody in Blue -- No not the gliss!

Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2008-02-26 17:04

One of our young artist competition winners is performing the Rhapsody in Blue and we just got the orchestral music. The woodwind parts include 3 saxophone parts and I have a question for those of you who have performed this piece before -- particularly with a full professional orchestra. Are those parts intended to be optional, doubled, or are they in addition to the three clarinet parts? The reason I ask is that, while they are not marked optional, the sax parts are identified as they would be for a dance band (1st alto, 2nd tenor, 3rd alto). Also, the 1st alto part has the opening clarinet gliss solos in it -- not as cues, but marked as solos with instructions that they are to be played on Bb clarinet. After the first bar of rehearsal number 2, however, the part switches to alto and never switches back to clarinet so it does not have any of the other clarinet solos. The bass clarinet part is identified as "Bass Clarinet 2nd Saxophone (Tenor)" and the part is identical to the separate tenor sax part, except for an 8-bar section at rehearsal #5, which is marked ""bass clarinet only" in the bass part and shown as bassoon cues in the tenor sax part. However, there are no indications in the bass part, that any of it is to be played on tenor sax. The 3rd alto part appears independent but is probably doubling other instruments in the orchestra.

I listened to an old St. Louis Symphony recording of the piece and I can hear saxophones in a couple of places but they are always doubled. I believe the parts are borrowed from another local orchestra (they are old and yellowed) and the conductor only has a piano score so he can't tell.

I suppose the opening solo in the lead alto sax part could simply be to provide an option if the principal clarinetist isn't up to the opening. (Or perhaps it was arranged that way for Al Gallodoro.) In any case, I would appreciate input on the use of saxophones with/vs. clarinets in this piece. I was planning to play the bass clarinet part but, if we need saxophones, will probably wind up on the 1st alto part (sans the opening solo - our principal will never give that up!)

Thanks in advance.

jnk

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